Senate Closes In On “Mother Of All Sanctions” Against Russia; West Takes Aim At Oligarchs

The United States, alongside its British and Europe allies, has drawn up more sanctions targeting Russia in the event Putin orders an invasion of Ukriaine, this time taking aim at oligarchs and elites which are considered the Russian leader’s “inner circle” – including their family members. Already the “the mother of all sanctions” package is separately nearing completion in the US senate.

An unnamed US official told Reuters of the classified list of those individuals who could be targeted based on the Countering America’s Adversaries Through Sanctions Act: “The individuals we have identified are in or near the inner circles of the Kremlin and play a role in government decision making or are at a minimum complicit in the Kremlin’s destabilizing behavior.”

“Putin’s cronies will no longer be able to use their spouses or other family members as proxies to evade sanctions. Sanctions would cut them off from the international financial system and ensure that they and their family members will no longer able to enjoy the perks of parking their money in the West and attending elite Western universities,” the official added. 

UK foreign secretary Liz Truss at the same on Sunday time unveiled legislation in Britain which would authorize targeting Russian banks, energy companies and “oligarchs close to the Kremlin” – which would be hit with sanctions by London.

The timing of the announcement underscored the sanctions would be internationally coordinated, the threat of which is intended as a ‘deterrent’ message to the Kremlin. However, Moscow has said over and over again throughout the crisis that it has no plans to invade Ukraine. Increasingly Ukrainian government leaders agree that the West’s threat assessment of a near-term Russian offensive is overblown.

Meanwhile, over the weekend, New Jersey Senator Bob Menendez described that a far reaching Russian sanctions package is on the cusp of obtaining bipartisan agreement and should be ready this week. The well-known Russia hawk, while speaking alongside James Risch (R-Idaho), confirmed to CNN on Sunday they had widespread bipartisan support. 

“I would describe it as we are on the 1-yard line, and hopefully we will be able to conclude successfully,” Menendez said. “There is an incredible bipartisan resolve for support of Ukraine and an incredibly strong bipartisan resolve to have severe consequences for Russia if it invades Ukraine and in some cases for what it has already done.”

Sen. Risch described that he is “cautiously optimistic at this point that when we get back to D.C. tomorrow that we’re going to be moving forward.”

A potential conflict in Ukraine, and or resulting sanctions on Russia, could send prices for energy, food and metals all surging ⬆️https://t.co/qmpapaEvS0#OOTT #ONGT #METL pic.twitter.com/lhIA0nndkc

— Helen Robertson (@HelenCRobertson) January 31, 2022

Crucially, if it actually takes effect in the event of severe escalation on the Russia-Ukraine border, the US would go after Russian companies’ ability to be tied into the global payment system linking Russia’s economy with the West, as The Hill describes: 

Menendez’s bill would target Russian officials and financial institutions if President Biden determines Russia has invaded or engaged in a significant “escalation of hostilities” against Ukraine. The bill also authorizes sanctions on companies in Russia that offer secure messaging systems such as SWIFT, the international system by which banks communicate, and includes additional security assistance and provisions to help Ukraine push back against Russian disinformation. 

Threatening Russia’s ability to transact international payments via SWIFT would be deemed by the Kremlin an act of war, as Russian officials have emphasized multiple times over the past few years. Russia has long been working on alternate means of settling international payments, especially pursuing these alternate means with the large economies of India and China.